


i'll be the angel by your side (i will get you through the night)

by fowlbyname45



Series: Artemis Fowl requests from Tumblr [2]
Category: Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer
Genre: Domovoi Butler is a good dad, Drabble, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:07:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 698
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28367385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fowlbyname45/pseuds/fowlbyname45
Summary: Young Artemis Fowl has a nightmare, and turns to his bodyguard for some comfort.(Request from chicken-scribbles on Tumblr!)
Relationships: Domovoi Butler & Artemis Fowl II
Series: Artemis Fowl requests from Tumblr [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2075481
Comments: 6
Kudos: 25





	i'll be the angel by your side (i will get you through the night)

**Author's Note:**

> hope you enjoy some hurt/comfort! my ask box on tumblr (sophieisdone45) is always open for requests <3

_ His father was gone. The bad men had taken him, and his mother was crying, and it was all too horrifying, too real… _

Young Artemis Fowl woke with a gasp, sitting up in his bed. A nightmare. That’s all it had been. Just a nightmare. But it had felt so realistic…it wasn’t though, the boy told himself. Nothing like that would ever happen in real life, surely.

His father was on another trip for the family business, and Artemis often worried that one day he wouldn’t come back. He missed him deeply while he was away, not that he would ever admit that to anyone. The nightmare had shaken him up, and there was one person he knew that wasn’t shaken by anything.

Butler.

Maybe his bodyguard had news of his father, of when he was coming back. Which he always would, right?

Tired of sitting around and feeling anxious, Artemis got out of his bed and went next door to Butler’s room, which was right by his own for safety reasons. If there was ever an emergency, the bodyguard needed to be able to reach Artemis as quickly as possible.

As the boy padded into the room, he saw Butler sleeping somewhat peacefully, or as peacefully as a man who always had to be on high alert could sleep. He seemed to be a rather light sleeper however, for as soon as Artemis said “Butler?” a little timidly, the man sat up, reaching for the weapon beside him with a steely look in his eye.

A millisecond later, he saw young Artemis’s wiry frame in the doorway and breathed a sigh of relief, moving his hand away from the nearby Sig Sauer and softening his expression.

“Yes, Master Artemis? What is it?”

The boy hesitated, walking further into the room before speaking again. “Nothing serious, Butler, I promise. I...I just had a nightmare and thought you might be able to answer some questions...about my father.”

The Eurasian man smiled, almost a little sadly. “Of course. Yes, I’m always here if you need me. What do you want to know?”

“When is he planning to come back this time? I mean, it’s usually only a few days, right?”

“He told me he’d be back the day after next.”

The bodyguard’s charge relaxed a bit more. “Okay. Thank you, old friend.”

Butler nodded. “Not to press, but what was your nightmare about?”

Artemis looked at the floor. “Father was taken and I knew he was never coming back. Mother was distraught, and....and it all just felt too real.”

The bodyguard frowned. Nine years old and already having to worry about whether he would ever see his father again. “I understand,” Butler said, a crease between his brows. “Is...is there anything else i can do?”

Artemis shook his head, wiping at his eye.  _ He couldn’t cry. He was far too old to cry.  _ The man in front of him noticed this, and cleared his throat slightly uncomfortably. “Um, do you...do you need a hug?”

The boy looked up at that, scrunching his nose in a way Butler found rather endearing.

“Honestly, Butler. I am not a  _ child _ .”

“With all due respect, Master Artemis, you are.”

His charge rolled his eyes but conceded. “I suppose ‘hugging’ can have positive benefits to one’s mental health.” With that, he wrapped his small, thin arms around his bodyguard’s large frame - a little awkwardly, it must be said, but at least he was trying.

He didn’t exactly have much practice with his father, after all.

Butler smiled and hugged gently back, happy that Artemis was showing some outward affection for once. After a few moments, the boy slackened his grip and said “I feel better now. I must have been right about those mental health benefits.”

Butler grinned down at him. “Of course you were.”

“I should probably go back to sleep; growing boys need at least eight to ten hours of rest each night for optimal development.” 

Butler patted the young genius on the shoulder. “Okay. Goodnight, Artemis.”

“Goodnight, Butler,” he replied, and with that Artemis went back to his room and dreamt of far more pleasant things. 


End file.
